Introduction
South Kingstown is not unlike other picturesque New England towns. It has plenty of ocean, substantial town infrastructure, and historic villages to name a few of its attractions. However, no town is completely understood without looking at what goes on behind the idealistic photos displayed on their visitors brochure. The following report is a compilation of the towns geography, health, safety, families, socioeconomic status, and demographics to better understand the community in which students are growing up.
Geographic Snap Shot
A snap shot of South Kingstown via. google maps.
South Kingstown is situated in the lower right hand corner of Rhode Island. It contains many coast communities and ponds. Prominent towns in South Kingstown include Wakefield, East Matunuck and Peace Dale. The available Affordable Housing plan offered on South Kingstown's website is from 2005 and shows a concentrated area in Peace Dale with low-income housing.
From the data reported on Rhode Island Kids Count the majority of children under the age of 18 in South Kingstown are not using RI Health Care. For South Kingstown, about 1/7 are receiving RI care, meaning the rest have access to a private plan or are not receiving any healthcare. Compared to Central Falls, which is economically unstable, approximately 4/5 of the children there are utilizing RI Health Care. Similarly, only 9% of the women in South Kingstown had delayed prenatal care, in Central Falls 20% of women had delayed prenatal care. The likelihood of women receiving prenatal care in South Kingstown is good, affecting the amount of pre-term births. In South Kingstown only 9.2% of births were reported as pre-term, Central Falls reported 11.2% of births as pre-term. The comparisons above depict South Kingstown as having high quality health care for their children.
Rhode Island Kids Count also showed South Kingstown (SK) to be a fairly safe environment. Being a suburban area the crime rate for SK is reported as fairly low. According to Kids Count, 6.5 out of 1,000 children face neglect or abuse where Central Falls had 20.2 out of 1,000. There were 21 incidences of violent crime offenses in SK compared to Central Falls with 101 incidences. The suburban setting of South Kingstown appears to provide a safe environment. Surprisingly, 36% of children in South Kingstown were present during incidents of domestic violence, a statistic which is 7% higher than the state average. Although South Kingstown seems fairly safe, the high incidences of domestic violence suggests a family turmoil as an area of concern.
Most children in South Kingstown live in a fairly average family. 20% of the children living in South Kingstown are in single parent households which is 11% less than the state average. The family unit in SK seems, for the most part, to contain demographics similar to other Rhode Island towns. Children in SK living with their grandparents constitutes only 5% which is one percent less than the state average. Most of the children in SK are also living with educated mothers, 61% of mothers have graduated with a bachelors degree or above. This is very high compared to Central Falls with 7% of mothers graduation with above a bachelors degree and the state average of 35%. Having a high rate of literate mothers means children are being exposed to a broader vocabulary at an earlier age which can help in their performance in school.
When comparing South Kingston to the rest of Rhode Island, the data is very different. South Kingston has a significantly higher median income. South Kingston is $101,857, whereas Rhode Island is $68,507. Also, the percentage of children living in families below the federal poverty threshold is 5.7% in South Kingston and 17.9% in Rhode Island. (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2013)
% Households with Cars
% Families with Children living below poverty line
% Families with 2+ workers
% Occupied Housing Units with 2+ Vehicles
Median Income
Rhode Island
89%
19.3%
57%
54.9%
$68,507
South Kingston
95.4%
8.1%
64%
63%
$101,857
North Kingston
96.4%
5.5%
62.3%
67.1%
$104,539
Narragansett
97.1%
4.3%
53.3%
66.3%
$95,208
Richmond
97.1%
4.1%
73.2%
81.7%
$101,420
Charlestown
98.1%
0.8%
66.3%
73.1%
$74,853
(ProvPlan, 2013) However, it is difficult to get a reliable comparison when comparing the Rhode Island as a whole because there are many areas that would greatly skew the data. Therefore, I looked at a few of the neighboring towns, including Narragansett, North Kingston, Richmond, and Charlestown. From the chart above it is clear to see the towns surrounding South Kingston are at similar, and, in some cases, higher, economic standings. This makes it easier to compare because it shows that there must be many places way below the Rhode Island average that bring down the data of the state.
Demographics
Hispanic
American Indian
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Black
White
2.8%
1.2%
2.7%
2.2%
90.8%
The majority of the population of South Kingston is white, 90.8%, with the other 9.2% a relatively even distribution of Hispanic, American Indian (specifically the Narragansett Indian Tribe can describe the unusual percentage of N.Americans), Asian, and Black. Furthermore, in Rhode Island 79.2% of people speak only English in their homes, whereas in South Kingston 93% of people only speak English. Additionally, demographics goes beyond race and could be looked at by age and sex. Therefore, in RI 64.3% of the population is between ages 18-64 and 15.8% of the population is ages 5-17. In South Kingston 68.6% of the population is between the ages of 18-64, and 13.9% of the population is between the ages of 5-17. For age, there is no significant difference between the spread of age for South Kingston and Rhode Island. As for sex, in Rhode Island for the population of people between the ages of 18-64, since this is the largest amount of people, there are 51% females and 49% males. In South Kingston males ages 18-64 make up 47.4% of the population of people between the ages of 18-64, and females make up 52.6%. Similar to age, there is no significant difference between the ratio of gender in the population. (ProvPlan, 2013)
Conclusion
This information is significant when looking at schools in the area because it is important to know information from the location of the school and surrounding areas in order to get a better understanding of the school itself. By looking at the data from South Kingstown and it's surrounding areas, one can conclude that South Kingstown seems to be economically, academically, and criminally better than the average found in Rhode Island.
South Kingstown Context Report
By Marisa DeCollibus and Kayla FreemanIntroduction
South Kingstown is not unlike other picturesque New England towns. It has plenty of ocean, substantial town infrastructure, and historic villages to name a few of its attractions. However, no town is completely understood without looking at what goes on behind the idealistic photos displayed on their visitors brochure. The following report is a compilation of the towns geography, health, safety, families, socioeconomic status, and demographics to better understand the community in which students are growing up.
Geographic Snap Shot
South Kingstown is situated in the lower right hand corner of Rhode Island. It contains many coast communities and ponds. Prominent towns in South Kingstown include Wakefield, East Matunuck and Peace Dale. The available Affordable Housing plan offered on South Kingstown's website is from 2005 and shows a concentrated area in Peace Dale with low-income housing.
South Kingstown Geographic Information System (Division of the Planning Department). (n.d.). Planning: Affordable Housing Production Plan | Town of South Kingstown. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from http://www.southkingstownri.com/town-government/municipal-departments/planning/affordable-housing-production-plan
Health Report
From the data reported on Rhode Island Kids Count the majority of children under the age of 18 in South Kingstown are not using RI Health Care. For South Kingstown, about 1/7 are receiving RI care, meaning the rest have access to a private plan or are not receiving any healthcare. Compared to Central Falls, which is economically unstable, approximately 4/5 of the children there are utilizing RI Health Care. Similarly, only 9% of the women in South Kingstown had delayed prenatal care, in Central Falls 20% of women had delayed prenatal care. The likelihood of women receiving prenatal care in South Kingstown is good, affecting the amount of pre-term births. In South Kingstown only 9.2% of births were reported as pre-term, Central Falls reported 11.2% of births as pre-term. The comparisons above depict South Kingstown as having high quality health care for their children.
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT: Data - Indicators. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/MultiPiecePage.asp_Q_PageID_E_464_A_PageName_E_dataindicators
Safety Report
Rhode Island Kids Count also showed South Kingstown (SK) to be a fairly safe environment. Being a suburban area the crime rate for SK is reported as fairly low. According to Kids Count, 6.5 out of 1,000 children face neglect or abuse where Central Falls had 20.2 out of 1,000. There were 21 incidences of violent crime offenses in SK compared to Central Falls with 101 incidences. The suburban setting of South Kingstown appears to provide a safe environment. Surprisingly, 36% of children in South Kingstown were present during incidents of domestic violence, a statistic which is 7% higher than the state average. Although South Kingstown seems fairly safe, the high incidences of domestic violence suggests a family turmoil as an area of concern.
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT: Data - Indicators. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/MultiPiecePage.asp_Q_PageID_E_464_A_PageName_E_dataindicators
Family Report
Most children in South Kingstown live in a fairly average family. 20% of the children living in South Kingstown are in single parent households which is 11% less than the state average. The family unit in SK seems, for the most part, to contain demographics similar to other Rhode Island towns. Children in SK living with their grandparents constitutes only 5% which is one percent less than the state average. Most of the children in SK are also living with educated mothers, 61% of mothers have graduated with a bachelors degree or above. This is very high compared to Central Falls with 7% of mothers graduation with above a bachelors degree and the state average of 35%. Having a high rate of literate mothers means children are being exposed to a broader vocabulary at an earlier age which can help in their performance in school.
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT: Data - Indicators. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/MultiPiecePage.asp_Q_PageID_E_464_A_PageName_E_dataindicators
Socioeconomic Report
When comparing South Kingston to the rest of Rhode Island, the data is very different. South Kingston has a significantly higher median income. South Kingston is $101,857, whereas Rhode Island is $68,507. Also, the percentage of children living in families below the federal poverty threshold is 5.7% in South Kingston and 17.9% in Rhode Island. (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2013)
However, it is difficult to get a reliable comparison when comparing the Rhode Island as a whole because there are many areas that would greatly skew the data. Therefore, I looked at a few of the neighboring towns, including Narragansett, North Kingston, Richmond, and Charlestown. From the chart above it is clear to see the towns surrounding South Kingston are at similar, and, in some cases, higher, economic standings. This makes it easier to compare because it shows that there must be many places way below the Rhode Island average that bring down the data of the state.
Demographics
The majority of the population of South Kingston is white, 90.8%, with the other 9.2% a relatively even distribution of Hispanic, American Indian (specifically the Narragansett Indian Tribe can describe the unusual percentage of N.Americans), Asian, and Black. Furthermore, in Rhode Island 79.2% of people speak only English in their homes, whereas in South Kingston 93% of people only speak English. Additionally, demographics goes beyond race and could be looked at by age and sex. Therefore, in RI 64.3% of the population is between ages 18-64 and 15.8% of the population is ages 5-17. In South Kingston 68.6% of the population is between the ages of 18-64, and 13.9% of the population is between the ages of 5-17. For age, there is no significant difference between the spread of age for South Kingston and Rhode Island. As for sex, in Rhode Island for the population of people between the ages of 18-64, since this is the largest amount of people, there are 51% females and 49% males. In South Kingston males ages 18-64 make up 47.4% of the population of people between the ages of 18-64, and females make up 52.6%. Similar to age, there is no significant difference between the ratio of gender in the population. (ProvPlan, 2013)
Conclusion
This information is significant when looking at schools in the area because it is important to know information from the location of the school and surrounding areas in order to get a better understanding of the school itself. By looking at the data from South Kingstown and it's surrounding areas, one can conclude that South Kingstown seems to be economically, academically, and criminally better than the average found in Rhode Island.